Shop Like An Icon at Unique Creatures

Today’s myriad of style blogs has created an army of Internet stars out of editors and ordinary people, leaving genuine fashion icons (translation: individuals known for some artistic or political achievement which give their covetable getups a hefty jolt of gravitas) pretty much forgotten. But theuniquecreatures.com, an online magazine–slash–shopping site dedicated to style rebels with their own distinctive causes—Angela Davis, Frida Kahlo, and Lee Miller among them—aims to set that motion in reverse.

“It’s a celebration of the independent thinkers of the world,” says Howard Collinge, creative director of the Sunshine Mind Collective advertising agency who, along with friends and creative directors Zahara Gallardo and Lucia Martinez, founded the site as a side project earlier this year. “After all,” Collinge continues, “independent thinking leads to independent style choices.”

For instance, the site suggests Burberry Prorsum’s transparent cape, Prada’s minimal baroque sunglasses, and Edie Parker’s glow-in-the-dark clutch for an autonomous look rooted in the namesake heroine from William Klein’s film Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? Similarly, all manner of spotted wonders—from a Marc Jacobs black-and-white polka-dot sweater to Equipment’s double-dot blouse—allude to the hallucinatory work of Japanese pop artist Yayoi Kusama, while falling in step with fall’s bespeckled trend. But the intention here is never to veer into over-the-top make-believe, much less disguise. Says Collinge: “Everything is grounded in a modern-day context. We tend to choose pieces that are stylish and unusual, but also completely accessible.”